Chocolate Peanut Butter Butterfinger Blondies

So, I know that the title of this post suggests that I just tossed everything in my kitchen into a dessert. That assumption isn't too far off, honestly.

I was making desserts for Friendsgiving - including this delicious pie - and decided to get creative. I started with this basic recipe from Serious Eats and modified it to suit what I had available. Feel free to do the same.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Butterfinger Blondies
inspired by Serious Eats

Cooking spray
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
8 miniature chocolate bars, chopped (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
8 miniature Butterfinger bars, crushed


Preheat oven to 375. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper, allowing ends to hang over sides. Lightly spray with cooking spray.

Microwave butter in large bowl on low power in 30 second intervals until it's just starting to melt. Stir in brown sugar and salt until combined. Stir in peanut butter, then egg and vanilla. Add flour and baking soda, and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate bars.

Spread into pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with crushed Butterfingers, creating an even layer across the top of the batter.

Bake until golden and just set, approximately 25 minutes. Let cool in pan for an hour. Lift blondies out of pan and slice.

Makes 16.

Here's a not-so-great photo of the blondies.

Oh, and here's that pie I mentioned, for good measure.

This post is part of the Hey Love Designs Monthly Pinterest Challenge. I had both of these recipes on my Pinterest boards (here and here) just waiting to be tried. Here's hoping that this challenge will inspire me to try some new things and post on this blog more regularly!

I do have a few recipes saved up for the holidays, so I'll try to get those up soon too.

I miss you, powdered sugar

I've been away too long, I know... I can't believe that the last recipe I shared with you was in March! However, I have a few saved so I'm going to start posting again beginning in September. My new goal is to share at least one recipe per week (regular day TBD), and perhaps share a few other things here and there as well. Until then, hop on over to Pinterest and follow my boards related to food and baking (and any others you're in the mood for)!

See you soon...

Pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese

For this month's Improv Cooking Challenge (hosted by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker), the secret ingredients were pumpkin and cream cheese (another winning combo).  While trying to decide what to make, I stumbled upon this cute idea from Duncan Hines.  Cupcakes that looked like pumpkins seemed like the way to go.

Inspired, I set out to create a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese icing that would look something like a pumpkin.  My version is a little more rustic, but I like it.

Cinnamon Caramel Apple Trifle

Today, I'm excited to take part in my first Improv Cooking Challenge from Lady Behind the Curtain!  (It's kind of like Iron Chef meets Chopped meets blogging.) This month, the challenge ingredients are apple and caramel - can't go wrong with that combo.

I thought about doing a cupcake, but I recently hosted a dinner party and decided to go with something a little different.  I had a trifle dish that I'd never used, and I wanted a dessert I could make in advance and not have to worry about.  Thus, I decided on a caramel apple trifle.  (Recipe appears at the bottom of this post.)

Why a cupcake blog?

Welcome, friends!

I know that some of you may have visited my other blog, I Still Want More Puppies.  I've posted recipes on there from time to time, but it didn't seem on point to keep posting photos of cupcakes I made over there.  So, I thought I'd set up a separate space to do that... a cupcake outlet, if you will.  I'll be telling you about my baking adventures (with photos, of course) and sharing other interesting sugary (and buttery) goodness I think you might like.

Stay tuned for my first installment... lemon cupcakes with a blackberry buttercream.  After that, vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and M&Ms...